Potato parer



Jan. 14, 1941. LQFGREN 7 2,228,572

POTATO PARER Filed June 24, 1938 Patented Jan. 14, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a paring tool for use on fruits and vegetables generally, although primarily designed for paring potatoes.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a potato parer having a thin flexible blade removably and adjustably clamped on a curved holder portion on the paring head to enable cutting peelings of any desired thickness down to paper thinness, with a view to greater economy. The curvature of the blade to conform to the shape of the fruit or vegetable being pared also greatly facilitates the operation, and the removability of the blade permits replacing it with another blade at very little or no expense, inasmuch as old safey razor blades can be used.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of a potato parer which while it employs a sharp razor blade to permit cutting thicker peelings more easily is nevertheless entirely safe to handle because of the guards embodied on the paring head in spaced relation to the cutting edges, affording a place to grip in using .the tool, while at the same time keeping the fingers spaced safely with respect to the sharp cutting edges.

Still another important object is the provision of a tool of the kind mentioned designed to mount a double-edged safety razor blade and having right and left-hand guards on the head in spaced relation to the two cutting edges, one of which guards serves for right-handed operation and the other for left-handed operation.

A further feature is the incorporating of a tapered nubbing point on the en-d of the paring head for cutting out eyes of potatoes and spots on fruit, the nubbing portion being troughed and joined at its butt portion with the end of the middle blade holder portion and guard portions, so that the head can be stamped from a single piece of sheet metal and will have the desired strength and rigidity even though fairly light gauge metal is used.

Still another feature is the formation of the blade holder portion, not only with longitudinal curvature to conform to the rounding of the fruit or vegetable, but also with transverse curvature whereby to further strengthen and stiffen the head and at the same time provide adeiiec-ting surface on the back of the bladeholder portion to cause the peelings .to curl outwardly away from the head and keep the head clear f-or'mostefficient operation.

Another feature is the bowed leaf spring clamp used in connection with theblade holder portion on the head riveted at one endon the head-and detachably secured at the other end in bladeclamping position by a quickly releasable manually rotatable locking pin.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figs. 1 and 2 are front and rear views, respectively, of the potato parer of my invention;

Fig- 3 is a side view partly in longitudinal section on the line 3- -3 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a cross-section of the paring head on line 44 of Fig. 1, indicating generally the mode of operation.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

The tool comprises a paring head 5 stamped from a single piece of sheet metal to provide a nubbing point 6 on the outer end joined at its butt portion to the outer end of a longitudinally extending blade holder portion 1 and opposed guard portions 8 and 9. The inner end of the blade holder portion 1 and guards 8 and 9 are integral with a tubular shank portion Ill formed by folding the opposite side portions at the inner end of the blank inwardly over one another to permit fastening .the paring head 5 to the end of the handle II by means of a nail 12, the handle having a reduced cylindrical end portion 13 fitting snugly in the tubular shank ID of the head for this purpose. Narrow longitudinal slots [4 and I5 are punched in the head 5 on opposite sides of the blade holder portion 1, and a thin flexible safety razor blade I6 is adapted to be clamped on the holder 1 by means of the bowed leaf spring I! with its opposed sharpened edge portions spectively, and partly covering the slots l4 and I5. The inner bevelled longitudinal edges 8 and 9' on the guards 8 and 9, respectively, are curved longitudinally to conform to the curvature of the edges i8 and I9 of the blade [6 when the blade is clamped on the head 5, the holder 1 being curved longitudinally to match the curvature of the edges 8 and 9, and the leaf spring I! being bowed in the same direction, normally to the extent indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, so as to hold the blade tightly against the curved seat afforded on the holder 1 when the leaf spring I1 is locked in blade holding position by the bent end of the locking pin 21. The edges 8' and 9 of the guards 8 and 9 are in a common curved plane behind the plane of the curved blade 16, as clearly appears in Fig. 3, so that there is clearance for the peeling or chips there between, and it is believed to be obvious that one [8 and I9 projecting from opposite sides of the holder 1 toward the guards 8 and 9, re-

may vary the thickness of the peeling or chip that will be cut by merely sliding the blade laterally toward or away from the edge 8 or 9', as the case may be, a thinner peeling or chip being obtainable the closer the cutting edge of the blade is brought to the adjacent edge of the guard. The leaf spring clamp I! has an outer end portion 22 of reduced width entered through a slit 23 on the outer end of the head between the butt portion of the nubbing point 6 and blade holder portion 1, and a rivet 24 entered through registering holes in the clamp l1 and head 5 serves to fasten the clamp in place. end of the clamp is notched out, as at 25, where the bent end 20 of the locking pin 21' in the locking position of the latter engages the clamp to hold it in blade holding position. The pin 2| is entered through registering holes 26 and 2'! on the tubular shank end of the head 5 on a line substantially coincident with a radial line drawn from the end of the holder 1 to .the center of its arc. The short bent end 20 of the locking pin 2| is flattened so that it does not project to any appreciable extent from the working face of the tool. The other end 28 of the locking pin 2i is bent parallel to the side of the tubular shank H3 and is elongated sufficiently to provide the desired amount of leverage in turning the pin to and from looking position. Due to the obtuse angularity of the bent end 28 with respect to the rest of the pin 2|, it projects outwardly far enough when the pin is turned to open position, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, so that the operator can easily move the same with his thumb or index finger toward closed position, and in the closed position, the bent end 28 lies closely alongside the shank 1 El and out of the way. The fact that the pin 21 passes through a hole 29 drilled through the end l3 of the handle I l is also of advantage in making the handle more rigidly secured to the head 5 than if the nail l2 alone were relied upon, and there is much less likelihood of the handle H working loose and tending to turn. In passing, attention is called to Fig. 4 in which the guards 8 and 9 are illustrated as disposed in longitudinal planes inclined inwardly toward one another at an acute angle, the line of intersection of these planes being at a point in front of the blade 16. In thisfigure, it will also be noticed that the blade holder portion 1, in addition to its longitudinal curvature, has transverse curvature so as to provide a convex deflecting surface .30 on the back thereof for a purpose which will soon appear.

In operation, one grasps the tool by the handle II with three fingers and with the index finger resting against whichever guard is to the rear; a right-handed operator will place his index finger on the guard 9, whereas a left-handed operator will use the guard 8. This is indicated in Fig. 4. where right-handed operation is illustrated. The thumb may be placed against the other guard or placed against the potato or whatever is being pared, to guide the tool along the surface being pared. The depth of cut is gauged by riding the edge 8 or 9 of the forward guard along the surface of the potato or fruit just in advance of the cutting edge of the blade 16. The'thickness of the peeling or chip will depend upon how close the cutting edge of the blade is adjusted in relation to the adjacent edge of the guard. One will not get cut by the trailing edge-of the blade'lB, because the blade will never be adjusted to a position where the trailing edge is close enough to the guard engaged by the index finger. The tool The other is found to out very easily, due to the thinness and sharpness of the blade, and this is also a factor in permitting the cutting of peelings to paper thinness. It is generally recognized that not only does this mean economy, but it is also an important advantage from the standpoint of health, because of the important minerals concentrated near the peeling, the bulk of which is saved when a paper-thin peeling is cut. The fact that the blade is curved to conform to the roundness of the potatoes and fruit, makes it possible to cut a peeling of substantially uniform thickness the full width and means further economy besides making for speedier operation than is" possible with a straight blade. The peelings and chips do not clog the paring head 5, but are deflected outwardly from the head by contact with the convex surface 30 on the back of the blade holder portion 1, as indicated in Fig. 4. This, therefore, means a further saving in time for the operator by eliminating the necessity for dislodging particles from theback of the paring head, besides insuring uniformly easy cutting at all times. The nubbing point 6 can be used to cut out eyes of potatoes and spots on fruit without changing the hold on the handle and guard, so that no time is lost, and the operator soon finds that this nubbing point will take care of the operationmuch more easily than was possible with the ordinary paring knife, and with much less waste of food. In cutting out an eye, the tool is given a twisting motion, thereby generating a cone with the nubbing point as an apex. The trough formation of the nubbing end 6 of the paring head and the fact that the guard portions 8 and 9 are in transverse relation to the plane of the blade holder portion 1 and are integral with the nubbing end 6 and handle-attaching shank l0, taken together with the fact that the bladeholding portion 1 is given longitudinal and transverse curvature, make for an extremely rigid paring head, despite the fact that fairly light gauge metal is usually employed in its construction. One may very easily adjust or remove the blade by simply turning the handle end 28 of the locking pin 2| to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3, whereupon the leaf spring blade clamp I1 springs outwardly to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 3, and the blade I6 is exposed for adjustment or removal. In clamping a blade, one simply forces the leaf spring blade clamp I! back to the full line position shown in Fig. 3, whereupon the locking pin 2| is turned by means of the end 28 back to the full line position shown in Fig. 3. A new safety razor blade can be provided, or one may use an old blade about as satisfactorily. It is therefore a matter .of little or no expense to replace the blade with which the potato parer may or may not come equipped.

In conclusion, the fact that the tool is designed tobe used just as efficiently left-handed as righthanded, is a very important advantage, inasmuch as most other tools provided for the present purpose are designed for use in only one way, usually right-handed operation, and a left-handed person attempting to use the same has to work to great disadvantage.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims are drawn with a view to covering all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. A potato parer comprising a handle, a paring head having a tubular attaching shank fitting on the end of said handle, said head adapted to support a thin paring blade, a blade retaining device secured at one end on said head at a point spaced from the attaching shank, and .a locking pin passing through said attaching shank and the end of said handle received therein and having means at one end which in one position of rotation of said pin secures the adjacent end of said device, and having means at the other end for rotating said pin.

2. A potato parer comprising a handle, a paring head having a tubular attaching shank fitting on the end of said handle, said head having a concavely curved blade-supporting portion adapted to support a thin flexible paring blade arched to fit the same, one end of said blade supporting portion being adjacent the attaching shank,a blade retaining device retained on said head adjacent the other end of said blade-supporting portion, and a locking pin passing through said attaching shank and the end of the handle therein at an acute angle to the axis thereof, and having one end bent substantially at right angles which in one position of rotation of said pin secures the adjacent end of said device, the other end of said pin being bent at an obtuse angle to provide an operating lever for turning said pin, said end in the blade holding position being disposed closely alongside the attaching shank.

3. A device of the class described comprising a handle and a paring head thereon including a central longitudinal blade holder having a generally rectangular blade-supporting surface, said holder adapted to support a thin flexible generally rectangular blade having a sharpened longitudinal edge portion arranged to project from the side of the holder, and means for clamping a blade on said holder comprising an elongated bowed leaf-spring extending lengthwise relative to the blade-supporting surface of the blade holder and secured at one end to said holder, said spring being bowed toward the blade-supporting surface, the other end of said spring being notched, and a rotary fastener on said holder engageable in the notched end of said spring when the spring is pressed toward the blade-supporting surface and arranged to be turned to secure the spring in such position holding a blade gripped between the spring and the blade-supporting surface.

4. A device of the class described comprising a handle and a paring head thereon including a central longitudinal blade holder having a generally rectangular blade-supporting surface, said holder adapted to support a thin flexible generally rcetangular blade having a sharpened longitudinal edge portion arranged to project from the side of the holder, said blade holder being arched longitudinally, and means for clamping a blade on the holder in longitudinally arched condition to conform to the arch of the holder comprising an elongated bowed leaf-spring disposed lengthwise relative to the blade-supporting surface of the blade holder, means securing one end of said spring to the holder, and a rotary fastener at the other end of said holder disposed substantially radially with respect to the arc of the arched blade-supporting surface and having a fastening portion which in one position of rotation of said fastener secures the adjacent end of the spring pressed toward the blade-supporting surface so as to grip a blade between the spring and surface.

I-IOKAN A. LOFGREN. 

